"Just so, my young friend; you have a strong understanding."
"And the best of it is that I have not only a strong understanding, but a strong will as well. But, though I may have the stubbornness of the donkey, I am not the complete donkey that many a one I know of is."
"What a witty mood you are in to-night, and how anxious you are to display your wit!"
Don Luis was silent. He played a few times, and was so lucky as to win each time.
The count began to be annoyed.
"What if the youngster should pluck me?" he said to himself. "Fortune favors the innocent."
While the count was troubling himself with this reflection, Don Luis, feeling fatigued, and weary now of the part he was playing, determined to end the matter at once.
"The object of all this," he said, "is to see if I can win all your gold, or if you can win mine. Is it not so, count?"
"Just so."
"Well, then, why should we remain here all night? It is getting late, and, according to your advice, I ought to retire early, so that the flower of my youth may not wither before its time."